When the Twins started their current 10-game road trip that concludes at Tampa Bay tonight, it was easy to build a case that Minnesota had the toughest remaining schedule among wild-card contenders. The Twins began the trip with 26 road games and 19 home dates to play – the worst disparity at the time among the contenders.
Schedule might favor Twins playoff prospects
As the Twins complete a rugged 10-game road trip tonight at Tampa Bay, they now have more home games than road dates remaining. That's important for a club that's been far better this season at Target Field than on the road.
August 27, 2015 at 4:33PM
![Minnesota Twins catcher Chris Herrmann (12) high fived second baseman Brian Dozier (2) after Herrmann hit a homer against the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the fifth inning. ] Aaron Lavinsky • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com The Minnesota Twins play the Cleveland Indians Saturday, August 15, 2015 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/R5XNYVVMKGG35KYV7FTAA4FSE4.jpg?&w=712)
Entering tonight's game, the Twins have more home games (19) than road (17) games remaining. That would appear critical since the Twins are currently 38-24 at home and 27-37 on the road, even with their current six-game road winning streak.
The best remaining home-road split among contenders belongs to Texas, which has 21 games at home, 16 on the road. But the Rangers this season are 28-32 at home and 36-29 on the road, which would appear to negative the apparent advantage of the remaining schedule.
The Angels have the worst remaining split with 15 home games and 21 on the road. That could be important since the Angels are 39-27 at home, and 25-35 on the road.
If you want to circle a key remaining series for the Twins, it's Aug. 17-21 when the Angels visit Target Field for a four-game series.
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
